Speaker 1: You were listening to Strawberry Spring, based on a short
Speaker 1: story by Stephen King. It's early, too early to deal
Speaker 1: with this. That crowd of reporters is about the last
Speaker 1: thing I need. Henry Kevin, what are you doing here?
Speaker 1: The same as everyone else. I'm here for information. Listeners
Speaker 1: will want to know what's going on. For Christ's sakes.
Speaker 1: I want to know what's going on, don't you. It's
Speaker 1: too soon. I don't have anything for you. Henry. We
Speaker 1: we got back a long time, right, Yeah, you know
Speaker 1: we do as long as I can remember. Great. So
Speaker 1: if you know anything, anything at all, accounting one. See,
Speaker 1: I'm just a little guy around here. I need all
Speaker 1: the help I can get. You and me. We're a team.
Speaker 1: We're not a team. Maybe in your head. We're a team.
Speaker 1: My head, your head. What's the difference. I gotta go,
Speaker 1: let's see the Dean. Alright, I'm gonna go lose myself
Speaker 1: in the crowd. Good luck. It's been eight years. Why
Speaker 1: would spring heeled Jack come back to New Sharon? Now?
Speaker 1: Look at the press setting about there. They're like vultures
Speaker 1: just waiting to pounds. We have to prepare a statement.
Speaker 1: Tell me everything you can about this guy, What do
Speaker 1: you know that we don't? What do you want to know?
Speaker 1: You wrote a book on spring Hill Jack murders. What's
Speaker 1: in this thing that's gonna help us catch him? Look,
Speaker 1: I don't know. Last time he just stopped killing. He disappeared,
Speaker 1: vanished into thin air. I don't know what happened to
Speaker 1: spring Hill Jack any more than you do. Well, we
Speaker 1: must have been close to catching him, probably scared him off.
Speaker 1: How do we know it's really him and not just
Speaker 1: the copycat? I don't, but I can tell you police
Speaker 1: work has come a long way since n This is
Speaker 1: six and this time it's going to be different. Now.
Speaker 1: Either spring Hill Jack is back or someone read your
Speaker 1: book and is looking to make a name for themselves.
Speaker 1: This murder, the one last night he copied Jack's m O.
Speaker 1: He chopped her head off. For Christ's sake, Jesus, I'll
Speaker 1: do whatever I can to help. What can you tell
Speaker 1: me about what you found? He's more violent than ever.
Speaker 1: Half her body was missing, and what's left over was
Speaker 1: draped across the snow. You should know we asked and
Speaker 1: to come down too, And I haven't talked to her
Speaker 1: since the book came out. I haven't thought about Anne
Speaker 1: for some time. After my book on Spring heel Jack
Speaker 1: was published, I got a taste of fame and fortune,
Speaker 1: and she went on to become a journalist. She resented
Speaker 1: the fact that I wrote the book, since we both
Speaker 1: covered the story. She always said I as a narcissist,
Speaker 1: a better suited for celebrity. I always thought she should
Speaker 1: be a psych major, but Rachel had that base covering.
Speaker 1: I guess we all ended up where we're supposed to be.
Speaker 1: No one knows this guy better than the two of
Speaker 1: you did. Did you see the Globe? It's on the
Speaker 1: front page. Anne wrote this. How did she get the
Speaker 1: story so quickly? It went out on the wire? We
Speaker 1: live in modern times. Okay, yeah, I'm gonna have to
Speaker 1: go out there and talk to the press. Are you
Speaker 1: canceling classes? I have four I'm supposed to teach today.
Speaker 1: What do I tell my students? Don't do anything yet.
Speaker 1: I'll bring an army on this campus before I let
Speaker 1: this guy up in my town again. Henry, can we
Speaker 1: count on you? I told you I'll do whatever I
Speaker 1: can to help catch him. We know you will. Now,
Speaker 1: let's all go out there and talk to the press together.
Speaker 1: Strengthen numbers right, Gee Spencer, why do you think spring
Speaker 1: Hill Jack has come back? At this is point, we
Speaker 1: cannot confirm that this is the work of spring Hill Jack.
Speaker 1: Dean Edwards, how is this going to affect the university?
Speaker 1: Our class is going to be canceled as of now. UM,
Speaker 1: we're going to increase security on campus. We have not
Speaker 1: made any decisions about our schedule. Our first priorities to
Speaker 1: the students of New Sharon and we will continue to
Speaker 1: make sure they get the best and safest education possible.
Speaker 1: I want to thank you all for coming, but that
Speaker 1: is all. I have two questions for Professor Dinon. You
Speaker 1: were here during the first wave of killing. You wrote next,
Speaker 1: I was on the murders. Why do you think Springhill
Speaker 1: jackal's returning. I have to echo what Chief Spencer said,
Speaker 1: we do not know if this is really spring Heel Jack.
Speaker 1: My second question, since you made a name for yourself
Speaker 1: off of them, are you worried for your safety? My
Speaker 1: safety when it all started. That was the last thing
Speaker 1: on my mind the night they arrested carl Anna Laura
Speaker 1: for Gail Kerman's murder. I remember staying at the Times
Speaker 1: late and and I were probably there until three in
Speaker 1: the morning. Nice Reny you too. You're a pretty good editor.
Speaker 1: You know that I don't, but that's nice to hear.
Speaker 1: Be honest, though, you thought we were going to break
Speaker 1: a big story, didn't you. Well, I don't know. This
Speaker 1: is a small New England town. I'm not expecting too much.
Speaker 1: But as far as I'm concerned, we should treat every
Speaker 1: story like it's going to be big. Otherwise, what are
Speaker 1: we doing here? I hadn't thought about it that way.
Speaker 1: That's why I'm the editor and you're not. Cheers to
Speaker 1: a job well done. Do you remember the first time
Speaker 1: we've met? So you asked me out sort of you
Speaker 1: were you were the freshman editor for The Times. I
Speaker 1: submitted an opinion piece. Then I asked you out. I
Speaker 1: don't remember that part. What did I say? Oh? You
Speaker 1: turned me down on both accounts. You were very professional.
Speaker 1: Maybe I should have been less professional and and hey,
Speaker 1: you know I'm serious about Rachel. I know, it's just
Speaker 1: what is it? No, my head, it's killing me. Wait
Speaker 1: here here, let me rub your temples. Just stop. Sorry,
Speaker 1: but that's it's not helping. Is there anything I can do? No? Look,
Speaker 1: I gotta go. I need to get outside. All right.
Speaker 1: The only anything that helps is just walking fresh air.
Speaker 1: Henry Ship, Oh Jesus, are you all right? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: turned when I heard you didn't see ros. You gotta
Speaker 1: be more careful. I mean, there's a killer on the loose. Man.
Speaker 1: You need some help here, Let me lend your hand.
Speaker 1: Thanks anytime, buddy, No Oneman was there for you think?
Speaker 1: Who would do such a thing? Who knows? Sometimes people
Speaker 1: just crack under pressure. I you think about it, Vincent,
Speaker 1: then go what he cut off his ear? Tell me
Speaker 1: that's not cracking under pressure. I can barely follow this
Speaker 1: conversation exactly my point. You can't understand what makes a
Speaker 1: man crack. Van Goh was in love. Sometimes it's the
Speaker 1: little things. He cut his ear off. Who are you
Speaker 1: to judge out a run? Need to grab something to
Speaker 1: eat before I get to sleep. Stay on the path.
Speaker 1: You don't want to slip and fall. Thanks for the advice.
Speaker 1: Who's that, Rachel? It's me, Henry. It's three in the morning.
Speaker 1: Open up, please, Oh my god, you're filthy. What happened?
Speaker 1: I was on my way back from the Times. I
Speaker 1: had a few drinks and the migraines said it and
Speaker 1: I tripped on one of those germs. Here's a towel.
Speaker 1: Tut yourself off. Thanks, shop ship. Look at your floor.
Speaker 1: It's a mess. Don't worry about it. I'll deal with
Speaker 1: it in the morning. Are you okay? My head hurts,
Speaker 1: but I'll be okay. No permanent injuries except maybe my pride.
Speaker 1: You know, I've been thinking about it, and your migraines
Speaker 1: might be psychosomatic. What do you mean, remember when we
Speaker 1: talked about emotional memory. Yeah, so I think if we
Speaker 1: can figure out what's triggering your headaches, maybe we can
Speaker 1: help you get rid of them. We just promised me
Speaker 1: we could keep Rachel my girlfriend, separate from Rachel the
Speaker 1: aspiring psychiatrist. I'll do my best, fair enough to be
Speaker 1: honest at this point, I'll try anything. You have some water,
Speaker 1: as far as you remember, you never had migraines before
Speaker 1: your accident, right, No, I didn't. Do you think you
Speaker 1: can try and remember what happened. Are you sure you're
Speaker 1: not forgetting anything. I'll do my best. It was really
Speaker 1: hard to see that night we hit the fog bank.
Speaker 1: It swerved right before we crashed. Mom, Junior, I remember
Speaker 1: crawling along the side of the road. I saw the deer,
Speaker 1: my mom had. It was crippled but still alive. Blood
Speaker 1: was dripping from its mouth, steam puffed from its nose.
Speaker 1: In the cold night air, I worked my way over
Speaker 1: to him. He tried to kick at me, but didn't
Speaker 1: have the strength. I looked it in the eyes. The
Speaker 1: pupils were dilated. All I could see was my reflection
Speaker 1: of pure black. I tried to comfort it. You're okay,
Speaker 1: you're good, be okay. It took all of my strength
Speaker 1: and loaded out of its misery. After that, the sirens
Speaker 1: got louder, and all I remember is waking up on
Speaker 1: the kurney. It's awful, Thank God, you're okay. The doctor
Speaker 1: said I had a concussion. That when I went through
Speaker 1: the windshield, I damaged my frontal lobe, but nobody was
Speaker 1: sure if there was going to be any permanent damage.
Speaker 1: That's when the migraines started, the insomnia, the bad dreams.
Speaker 1: You're lucky you were able to walk away from something
Speaker 1: like that. Lucky, I guess, so my mom and little
Speaker 1: brother weren't so fortunate. All that matters now is that
Speaker 1: your hair. Come on, let's got some sleep. Good morning,
Speaker 1: good boarding. Whould you sleep pretty good? I don't think
Speaker 1: I moved a muscle. That's you're funny. I'm gonna make
Speaker 1: some coffee. It's mar teenth for what is worth. There
Speaker 1: was an arrest overnight of Carl m Laura. He's accused
Speaker 1: of killing Gail Kerman two nights ago in the Animal
Speaker 1: Sciences parking lot across from Shreeve Hall. Hey, Rachel, I
Speaker 1: gotta go. Do you want something to eat? No, I
Speaker 1: gotta get to the paper. They arrested the amur guy
Speaker 1: for the Kerman murder. You're not going to believe this.
Speaker 1: Chelsea got her hands on a copy of the Blue
Speaker 1: support for m Lara. It says here he hasn't confessed
Speaker 1: to anything, and he claims he's innocent. Well it doesn't
Speaker 1: everyone claim they're innocent. If they arrested him, they must
Speaker 1: have something they do. They used with some students in
Speaker 1: his dorm. It turns out he was seen arguing with
Speaker 1: Gail Kerman last month the grinder and get this, they
Speaker 1: just broke up last week. Wait, so that's enough to
Speaker 1: pin a murder on him? People break up on campus
Speaker 1: every day of the week. His roommates said he was
Speaker 1: and I'm quoting here, despondent and the police found a
Speaker 1: seven inch hunting knife and his foot locker under his
Speaker 1: bed again maybe, oh and one more thing, and said
Speaker 1: that foot locker was a picture of Gail Kerman, slice
Speaker 1: to ribbons like a kitty scissor. Class got ahold of
Speaker 1: it and cut it up like a paper doll. Fair enough? Hello,
Speaker 1: right now, what's up? Tean Edwards is calling all students
Speaker 1: back to the quad. Rachel over here. What's this all about? First?
Speaker 1: I want to thank you all for coming on. I
Speaker 1: know we all been through a lot in the past
Speaker 1: few days, and I also want to thank Captin Spencer
Speaker 1: and the new Sharing Police Department from their find Was
Speaker 1: it already the reason I've called you here today? We
Speaker 1: have great news. I'll turn it over to Captain Spencer.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you, Dean Edwards. As you all may
Speaker 1: have heard, we did apprehend the suspect overnight and feel
Speaker 1: confident that we do. Indeed, you have Gail Kerman's killer
Speaker 1: and cousin. Thank god. I feel a little better. I
Speaker 1: feel like I can fath them. And on that note,
Speaker 1: we will be removing the curfew from campus and I
Speaker 1: hope you all can get back to work, put this
Speaker 1: behind you and study forbid terms with a little luck
Speaker 1: the weather, we'll start to break two in the meantime.
Speaker 1: Thank you all for coming, and please remember to look
Speaker 1: out for each other. It's like working out from a nightmare.
Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I need a drink.
Speaker 1: Let head to the grinder and have a few years.
Speaker 1: Here you go eat. I don't want any food tonight.
Speaker 1: I think we're all set from now. Thanks, here's the
Speaker 1: feeling safe again. I have to admit I do feel better.
Speaker 1: This whole thing is so hard to leave. Honestly, who
Speaker 1: would do something like that? Can you imagine? Almost have
Speaker 1: trusted him, spent time with him, and then he goes
Speaker 1: and does that. It's crazy. And to think he used
Speaker 1: to work here. I just don't get it. I guess
Speaker 1: you never know what someone is thinking or when they
Speaker 1: might crack. Henry, he didn't just crack, he butchered her.
Speaker 1: I know, but look, you're the psych major. Look around.
Speaker 1: It's a sign of the times. JFK. Civil rights violence
Speaker 1: is everywhere. Maybe the pressure just Scott, what have we here?
Speaker 1: Just ignore them? It looks like someone is getting her
Speaker 1: civil rights. Do you mind? Oh? I don't mind at all.
Speaker 1: Why don't you go back to your beers? We're not
Speaker 1: bothering you, Actually you are. I think it's better if
Speaker 1: you just go somewhere else. Maybe go to the park
Speaker 1: or the zoo. What the fund did you just say?
Speaker 1: You heard him, Henry? Don't Yeah, Henry, you don't want
Speaker 1: to get hurt in front of your girlfriend. Oh look,
Speaker 1: he has a knife. What are you gonna do with that?
Speaker 1: Maybe I'll use it on you? Say one world word.
Speaker 1: Come on, Henry, let's just go. Hey, hut the knife down. Yeah, Henry,
Speaker 1: put the knife down before someone gets hurt, because it's
Speaker 1: probably gonna be you good thinking. Let's go. What were
Speaker 1: you going to do with that knife? Yeah? I don't know,
Speaker 1: probably cut myself. But I wasn't going to let them
Speaker 1: talk to you like that. I'm sorry. They have no
Speaker 1: right to speak to you that way. You like my
Speaker 1: night and shining Armor? Come on, go back to my place.
Speaker 1: It's like it's about four. We hurried back to Rachel's apartment.
Speaker 1: Now that I think about it, I don't know what
Speaker 1: I would have done to those guys in the grind
Speaker 1: or that night. I just know my blood was boiling.
Speaker 1: If Rachel wasn't there, I'm not sure what would have happened.
Speaker 1: But thank god she was. I could have ended up
Speaker 1: in jail or worse dead. I fell asleep at Rachel's
Speaker 1: place that night, but it didn't last long. My head
Speaker 1: started to hurt. It could have been the argument in
Speaker 1: the bar. It could have been a million things. Either way,
Speaker 1: I knew I was gonna need some fresh air. I
Speaker 1: was quiet, I always am. I didn't want to wake her.
Speaker 1: Rachel always looked so peaceful when she slept. She was
Speaker 1: always so calm and relaxed, even in the presence of
Speaker 1: full blown racism. I was jealous that her inner peace
Speaker 1: eluded me. I could hear the trees rustling in the wind.
Speaker 1: When I looked out, all I could see was fog, white, impenetrable.
Speaker 1: I got dressed and slipped out of the department. It's
Speaker 1: the lat show with me, d JN. It's been a
Speaker 1: lot to handle the past few days. Year and New Sharon.
Speaker 1: I had one of those portable radios back then, the
Speaker 1: kind with the one ear piece and almost fit in
Speaker 1: your ear. As strange as it was, it was good
Speaker 1: to hear a familiar voice, and for some reason, Kevin
Speaker 1: never bothered my head in this. Let me take a
Speaker 1: request and I'd help you forget about your troubles. So
Speaker 1: here's anything you want to hear. Give me a ring.
Speaker 1: I'll do I best to play it for you. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, there's something new for you to check out.
Speaker 1: When I can't sleep, when my insomnia and migraine sit in,
Speaker 1: I walk. I've been doing it for years, just so
Speaker 1: now taking the night air and try to relax. Breathing
Speaker 1: in the fog. It's like an out of body experience.
Speaker 1: The myths seems to creep into every pore. I can
Speaker 1: just forget about everything and let my mind wander. It
Speaker 1: was a long forty eight hours since they found Gail
Speaker 1: Kerman's body. I was fried. I started those two days
Speaker 1: with a hangover, and by the time that was over,
Speaker 1: I felt like a freight train had driven through my head.
Speaker 1: If I remember correctly, the fog was pretty thick that night,
Speaker 1: and sure not without realize in it, I found myself
Speaker 1: right back at the Animal Science It's parking lot. Long
Speaker 1: request you were out there, no matter, remember your mother
Speaker 1: her money? Yeah. The police tape was wet, almost slippery.
Speaker 1: I tried to imagine what Gail Kerman's last moments must
Speaker 1: have been like. Walking to her car, and Laura coming
Speaker 1: up from behind her, the violence and brutality of the
Speaker 1: knife tearing through her coat, ripping at her skin. The
Speaker 1: snow was running off, dripping down the embankment. I got
Speaker 1: distracted by a couple under the street light. I couldn't
Speaker 1: see their faces, just the outline of their shadows. The
Speaker 1: radio was playing and seemed to be getting louder and
Speaker 1: louder like I couldn't turn it off. Between that and
Speaker 1: the dripping water, the footsteps, the footsteps, I couldn't lower
Speaker 1: the volume. My head was splitting. I've been thinking about
Speaker 1: that foggy night when I walked past all those shadows.
Speaker 1: I remember my mouth being dry and the fog being thick,
Speaker 1: but I can't seem to remember much else. And Samnia
Speaker 1: will do that to you though, make you walking zombie.
Speaker 1: The only saving grace was that there was no reason
Speaker 1: to be alarmed. Emma Laura, the new Sharon Killer was
Speaker 1: in custody, which is probably why no one on campus
Speaker 1: had a worry in the world. I decided to head
Speaker 1: back to Rachel's place and trying to get spress. I
Speaker 1: don't know why call me If you want to take
Speaker 1: a break, I might swing by the fine mood Delta House.
Speaker 1: I know some of the boys there, and I'm sure
Speaker 1: they'd be happy if I brought a friend. They're having
Speaker 1: their annual spring fling. You want to meet up? Maybe
Speaker 1: it sounds like a lot more fun than this. I'm
Speaker 1: parked right in front. You want me to give you
Speaker 1: a ride? No, I'm just on the other side of campus.
Speaker 1: I'll walk, thanks, though, suit yourself, Okay, I'll give you
Speaker 1: a ring before I head out tonight. H shit, Oh
Speaker 1: damn it. Where did those books go? You see? Probably
Speaker 1: cy Latin Science Swear the other two? Hello, excuse me,
Speaker 1: it's hard to see you out here. If you come
Speaker 1: across a couple of books, those are probably it has
Speaker 1: to be somewhere. I when did you get home? Just
Speaker 1: pulled in. I thought you weren't going to be late. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I uh yeah, I wasn't. Um. After I met with
Speaker 1: Dean Edwards and Chief Spencer, I had to finish grading papers,
Speaker 1: I stopped for some milk and came home. That's it,
Speaker 1: that's it. Weren't you out with Jennifer or one of
Speaker 1: your female students at the grinder trying to impress you
Speaker 1: or get extra credits? I'm rage. I no. I know
Speaker 1: you're pregnant, but you're being jealous and now you're being
Speaker 1: emotional rage. You don't understand. Spring heeled Jack is back
Speaker 1: and I have to help catch him. It's not your responsibility.
Speaker 1: This obsession almost destroyed us eight years ago. You don't
Speaker 1: have to help anyone. You only have to help yourself.
Speaker 1: You have to help our baby and me. You don't
Speaker 1: have time for this ship. You spent the entire day
Speaker 1: being dragged back into your past. It's not like you
Speaker 1: had a choice. I totally agree she's being emotional. I
Speaker 1: have to get some things out of the car. I
Speaker 1: left the file box in the trunk. I'll be right in.
Speaker 1: I can't see you. Damn think did I leave the ship? Ship? Ship? Ah?
Speaker 1: There it is to make better? Does Rachel want to
Speaker 1: know where I was all night? I was driving through
Speaker 1: the fog like clockwork. I got another migraine. But she
Speaker 1: doesn't want to hear that. Where's that keyhole? Come on,
Speaker 1: don't die on me. She just wants to know what
Speaker 1: time all be home for dinner. What in the world
Speaker 1: is said on my car? Is that blood? What is
Speaker 1: that the trunk? Oh? My god, it's blood? What is
Speaker 1: this a letter written in blood to Henry, I've missed you.
Speaker 1: Without you, there can be no me. My night is
Speaker 1: sharp and I'm glad to be getting back to work.
Speaker 1: I hope you don't mind, but I needed your car
Speaker 1: to move some things. Consider this an invitation. It's time
Speaker 1: to get reacquainted. B s. Let's just keep this between
Speaker 1: us for now. And congratulations on the bay, Rachel, Thanks Spring,
Speaker 1: heel Jack. It's gonna turn our lives upside down again.
Speaker 1: And oh God, I think she might be right. Strawberry
Speaker 1: Spring is a production of Audio Up Media and I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio, based on a short story by Stephen King.
Speaker 1: Executive produced by Lee Metzker, Jared Gootstadt and Philip Alberstatt,
Speaker 1: Written and directed by the Lee Metzker, Starring Garrett Headland,
Speaker 1: My Little Vent Amilia, Horizon, Guardiola, Sydney Sweeney, Ken Marino,
Speaker 1: Al Madrigal and Brett Passenger. Audio Up in house production
Speaker 1: by Georgana Glick, Franzheim and Laura Ramada, Edited by Carry Caulfield,
Speaker 1: Eric and Jeremiah Zimmerman. Sound design and mixed by Jeremiah Zimmerman.
Speaker 1: Scored by Jeff Peters. Songs and music by jar Gootstatt
Speaker 1: and Jessie stephen Burke. Strawberry Spring is published in Stephen
Speaker 1: King's short story collection night Shift, available in paperback and
Speaker 1: ebro from Anchor Books and as an audiobook from Penguin
Speaker 1: Random House Audio. For the full list of production credits,
Speaker 1: please visit audio up dot com. You can find more
Speaker 1: podcasts from i heart Radio on the i Heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Body up